CONFIGURATION of JESUS CRUCIFIED Newsletter, Nbr 7 - November 2015 General Synod 2015 EXALT BRASIL I participated in several Synods of the Congregation. The last was a totally different experience for me. I could summarize it in three words: universality, brotherhood and spirituality. Universality. The various parts of the Congregation were well represented, in particular the regions in which the Congregation is growing, such as Asia, Africa and Latin America; each with its own richness and hallenge.s Young and smiling faces. It is the Congregation growing, it is the culture and charisma that animates the lives of men and women who struggle, even, at times, for survival. Fraternity. The welcome of the brothers, respect for the ideas of the others, the interest in obtaining knowledge... it s a sign of communion and belonging to the Congregation as one family. Spirituality. The theme of the Synod Called to holiness in the community for evangelization was the leitmotif of the Synod and the background for all its work. A holiness that must live first in the community, fondly welcoming our brothers with their wealth and weaknesses. It is this communion between brothers, which becomes evangelization. Fr. Giovanni Cipriani cp
REG MEXICO From my experience, the XV General Synod was a great opportunity to meet with the Congregation in its international, ethnic and cultural diversity. Even with the difficulties that involve the limitations of language, I think we accomplished a great atmosphere of communion and participation in, and from, the Passionist Charisma. It was a good opportunity to learn that, three years after the 46th General Chapter, the current reality of the Congregation with its searchings and achievements, is filled with hope (For example: the development that followed the Configurations, in solidarity and mission, in the Secretariat for Formation, in the Historical Commission, in the territories in which the Congregation is growing, the laity who share our charism, our service in the Church... etc.) Something that, from my point of view was needed, was to understand and appreciate the difficulties we have all experienced in each Configuration, in the effort to get this new way of being Passionist to move forward. Perhaps something can be deduced from what was presented at the Synod, but it was necessary to be more explicit. We have also dealt with the limits we are experien-cing and that we care about and challenge:... the main objective of the creation of the configurations has not been fully accepted...because of lack of understanding... because of resistance brought about by the fear of change ; strong numerical decline being experienced by the Congregation due to death or religious departing; individualism, etc. The Resurrection of Jesus serves as a reminder that we are called to holiness in community life as a means for our evangelizing mission, even amid disappointing and negative situations, which we face and for which we often cannot find satisfactory solutions. This has made us return to our Provinces firmly believing that it is possible and necessary to continue walking on and intensifying the testimony we live as Passionists. Fr. Rafael Vivanco Pérez cp CONC ARGENTINA and URUGUAY The Synod was a privileged experience in witnessing to the diversity and universality of our Congregation. It was significant to perceive how many of the brethren are inspired by our Passionist spirituality and commitment in different areas of the world. There is a keen consciousness of what we learned in the Synod of Tanzania, in the 80s: There is an intimate relationship between the Crucified Jesus and the crucified of today... from this flows a newness of life. The message Jesus suffering in the refugee and immigrant expresses this awareness and commitment. I appreciated being able to grow in awareness of being part of a Congregation that is present in 60 countries. I appreciated the relationships I entered into at this Synod; now when I look at the BIP (Passionist International Bulletin), I read with a different consciousness. And I also appreciate that in this context I, together with Eugene Delaney, was able to meet Pope Francisco and give the pope a big hug. Fr. Carlos Saracini cp
NEWS We strive to, care for and to include our older brethren In our facility at Santa Cruz in Buenos Aires (School, Parish, Nazareth Retreat House and the House of the religious community) live Frs. Francisco, Carlos, Marcelo, Juan María, Juan Ignacio, Joseph and Basilio. The first three are pastorally active in these three institutions, together with a lay woman called Sabina; we are Passionist Pilgrims. Our older brothers range from 79 to 91 years old. On the last community visitation of the Provincial team they reported: We had 19 community meetings this year. It is very important that we have these frequently. We are a community marked by fragile health conditions. Specifically, Juan Ignacio s operation, the situations of Basilio and Bernardo; in addition there is Juan Maria who is bedridden. Among us there is an awakening of the sense of what fraternity means, we are interested in each other. Inspired by the passion of Jesus, we have matured, we have learned from our suffering. We have a nice home... it s a pleasant house, very comfortable. There is a good relationship with those ministering in Nazareth Retreat House and the parish. We recently celebrated the birthday of Nieves and Maria Elena. Two beautiful experiences: We all prepared our feast of the Holy Cross. One of the symbols was to make flags of different colors and sizes. We gave our temple of flags, created by threeyear old school children, to Basilio who is 91. Children, 4 years of age, visited the religious community in small groups, four times, accompanied by their parents. It was really a party during which the freshness of children and the wisdom of the elders were evident. It was wonderful to see the joy of Fr Juan Maria receiving those little ones in his room, receiving the wind spirit. Only love becomes miracle mud, as the poet says. We continue to learn about, to care for and to integrate our elder brothers with the different people of the various institutions of Santa Cruz.
REG- MEXICO On October 3rd Alexander Márquez Olivares and Eloy Medina Torres received the priesthood and diaconate, by the imposition of the hands of the Bishop of Cuernavaca, Mons. Ramon Castro, in the Passionist Spirituality Centre in that city.
CRUC - USA May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts Holy Cross Province had their bi-annual Leadership meeting, as well as the meeting of Local Community Superiors and the Province Retreat Centers Board October 26-29, 2015. Much was discussed about finding common ground with the younger candidates interested in our religious life, as well as, a greater focus on Hispanic Ministry in our different apostolates.
Calvary Province The Provincial Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Calvary Province was held from the 9th to 13th November in Ponta Grossa. It was a time to celebrate, as a family, the Year of Consecrated Religious Life; a time to evaluate new projects, such as, Passionist Parishes ; to share the decisions of the General Synod and the way of uniting two provinces: CALV and CONC. Present from CONC province were: Carlos Saracini, Francisco Rodriguez, Marcelo Perez and Alejandro Freyre Ferrari. We also took under consideration areas of Consultation and various projects. We evaluated the following projects: 1. Passionist charisma 2-JPIC (Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation) 3-Solidarity 4-Lay Passionists 5- Young people 6-Apostolate and mission 7- Itinerant ministry (We decided to re-enforce some places, therefore we must leave some houses and\ or parishes) We also shared considerations on: 1. Economy 2. Initial and on-going formation. Vocations 3. Mission and Apostolate 4. Communications 5. Lifestyle (Promoting community life based on spirituality)